Natick home can be your true Sanctuary

This brick contemporary in South Natick has been turned into a showpiece home with more than $220,000 in upgrades to all areas of the property.

Located in the Sanctuary Estates, a 57-home subdivision development of high-end single-family homes abutting conservation land, the five-bedroom house on an acre of land at 15 Harvest Moon Lane is on the market for $1,149,000. Since buying the home in 2007, the current owners have done a high-end build-out of the basement that includes a home theater, billiards room, sauna and large built-in bar.

The red brick and beige clapboard house, built in 1999, has 5,390 square feet of living space, an attached three-car garage and a nicely landscaped front yard with a curving brick walk.

There's a double-height entry foyer off of which all the oak-floored first-floor living spaces flow. To the left is a recessed-lit living room with lots of windows, whose focal point is an updated gas fireplace surrounded by stone. There's also new custom moulding and a sound system. Pocket doors lead to a formal dining room with chair-rail wainscoting and dentil crown moulding.

The adjacent kitchen has a new oak floor, cherrywood cabinets, black granite counters, an island with pendant lighting and a built-in bar with glass cabinets. High-end appliances include a DCS gas stove, a cabinet-enclosed Sub Zero refrigerator and Kitchen Aid dishwasher. There's a dining area with glass doors leading out to a large rear deck.

The owners widened the entrance to an adjacent family room, installed wood columns, updated a fireplace to gas and added an integrated sound system.

Off a hallway from this room is a laundry room, a renovated half bath with beadboard wainscoting, and a direct entrance to a three-car garage with newly built-in storage space.

A turning staircase leads to the second floor, with a half landing opening into a sunny home office/study area.

There are four bedrooms on the second floor, off an oak hallway overlooking the foyer. At one end, the oak-floored master bedroom suite features high ceilings, a large walk-in closet with built-in shelving, a private deck and a beige ceramic tile master bathroom with a raised whirlpool tub and glass-enclosed steam shower.

A bedroom on the opposite side of the house also has a large walk-in closet and an en-suite ceramic tile bathroom with a one-piece Fiberglas shower. In between are two other good-sized bedrooms with built-in closet shelving, and there's a third full ceramic-tile bathroom across the hall.

The current owners have completely built out the home's basement, with cherrywood floors in front of a large built-in bar with Blue Pearl granite countertops. There's a cherry-floored billiards room and a carpeted playroom with custom built-in cabinets. There's a full ceramic-tile bathroom and a wood-lined sauna.

A home theater with raised leather seats and projector TV is negotiable with the owners.

The home has gas-fired heating and central air-conditioning systems, and the owners have added an instant-on tankless water-heating system.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kia Forte sheds dowdy image

Once a dowdy but economical compact, the 2014 Kia Forte EX explodes into this year's marketplace with a complete redesign. With a lower, wider and longer body, the aggressive styling announces this car as a true contender in the feisty compact field.

Going up against the Ford Focus, Mazda 3 and teammate the Hyundai Elantra, the new 2.0-liter 173-horsepower Forte bullies its way into the mix, and with a base MSRP of $20,200, it will turn heads.

Let's start with the large, elegant cabin. Our EX tester is trimmed with comfortable leather seats, well-crafted contrasting plastic and plenty of easy-to-use tech features. There's legroom to spare for driver and passenger and even to let your backseat passengers stretch out. And this compact packs a full-sized trunk: I was able to stow my golf clubs easily with room to spare.

Grab hold of the thick leather-trimmed steering wheel and feel how confident a road car the Forte is. Although the steering is responsive and fun around town, I found the highway control vague: a Kia/Hyundai sticking point. One of the common complaints for smaller cars is the excessive road noise, however Kia has stepped up and done a nice job of muting the cabin, bringing Forte's comfort to the top of the class. The $2,600 Premium Package, which adds features such as the UVO voice-operated infotainment center, heated and cooled seats, and full power group, makes this nifty car an impressively quiet, fun ride.

The $2,300 Tech Package adds a 7-inch touch-screen navigation with big buttons that is a delight and easy to program — other makers should take note. The dash has a futuristic feel with some really slick-looking displays but they all work well with the redesigned interior. One drawback for me: The "A" pillar, which supports the roof, was in my left line-of-sight, but Kia adds a small cutout window to help.

Mileage is quite good, an average of 26 mpg, and the engine's performance is peppy and quick. Under heavy acceleration, the six speed automatic transmission gets whiny and tops out a tad too quickly but it does the job.

But at the end of the day what really drew me to this car was the sweet lines and easy-on-the-eyes curb appeal. I've been a fan of the Korean auto giant's European engineering and its evolution over the past couple of years. It took very little time for the entire line to be influenced and I expect more improvements to come.

It's easy to recommend any of the cars from this manufacturer. Good looking, superbly trimmed, technically sound and immensely well-packaged with goodies, such as the panoramic sunroof and power folding mirrors, they offer across the board bang for your dollar.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Newport jazzes up condo options

Looking to escape the sweltering summer heat, but can't decide between a full service high rise and an ocean-front cottage?

Well, both options are available in Rhode Island at either the Carnegie Abbey Club or the Newport Beach Club.

The Carnegie Abbey Club is considered one of the finest private clubs in the nation. It is the only gated community in Rhode Island and exemplifies gracious living with a focus on family, balance and sport. It offers residences at the Tower at the Carnegie Abbey Club, a 22- story luxury building with views of Narragansett Bay.

While its sister property next door, The Newport Beach Club, is a private ocean front club inspired by the classic New England beach town with boardwalks and intimate streets leading to the ocean's edge facing the Narragansett Bay on Newport Island.

But be prepared to pay $500,000 to $7.9 million.

Jessica Crimmins and her husband Martin have lived in Beacon Hill for the past 20 years and will still keep a small home in downtown Boston. They were the very first family to purchase in the Newport Beach Club. They're home was just completed last month.

"We joined The Carnegie Abbey Club in 2009 because we fell in love with the sporting lifestyle there," said Jessica Crimmins. "Between the tennis, golf, equestrian, sailing and running amenities our family takes full advantage of all that the club has to offer in addition to wanting to be around people that share the sporting lifestyle."

Dr. James Pomposelli, and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Pomfret, were the first residents in The Tower at The Carnegie Abbey Club, which boasts amenities such as concierge services, a private gym, an executive boardroom with teleconferencing and catering kitchen, a luxury pool and spa.

"We live here part time with our daughter. We love the tower because it has the amenities of city living, but the surroundings of an oceanfront home," Pomposelli said. "The club's services and offerings are spectacular and very family friendly. It's also convenient to our home near Boston."

Buyers like Kim and Roy Dawson, who live in Scituate, R.I., wanted the feel of the beach. Their home in the Newport Beach Club is currently being built and will be completed this November.

"We chose the Newport Beach Club because we wanted our next home to feel like a vacation home, a home away from home," Dawson said. "The Newport Beach Club provides everything we're looking for, we don't have to worry about the lawn or yard work, we're catered to and having the water views and pool steps away from our front door gives us a sense of pure relaxation. When we're home, we want to relax and not work. The Newport Beach Club affords us all of these options."

Jennifer Athas is a licensed real estate broker. Follow her on twitter @jenathas

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Commercial rental rates shooting up

The Hub's commercial rental rates are rising, bolstered by the city's better-than-average recovery from the recession, the firm Cushman & Wakefield said during its semi-annual market update yesterday.

Boston has now regained more jobs than it lost from 2008 to 2011, and so-called Class A office rents have soared 6.5 percent over the past year to the highest level in four years, the firm said.

The Back Bay, the first market to bounce back from the recession, with the highest office rental rate in the city, is expected to stay flat or even drop, as some companies head elsewhere, such as the Financial District, where rents are starting to climb, or the red-hot Seaport District, where bidding wars are the norm, the firm said.

That trend was illustrated earlier this year when accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers opted for space in a soon-to-be-built Seaport Boulevard office tower instead of 888 Boylston St., by the Prudential Center Tower, said Debra Gould of Cushman & Wakefield.

"They chose to go to the Seaport as opposed to the Back Bay," said Gould. "They felt that was where they'd be able to do the best recruiting."

PWC would only say in a statement yesterday that it's evaluating its space needs.

Meanwhile, multi-family rates are continuing to rise from 5 to 8 percent even with plenty of new units entering the market, said Michael Byrne of Cushman & Wakefield.

Developers are also keeping an eye on politics — and not just who will take over for Mayor Thomas M. Menino in January.

"As much as they're interested in the mayor's race, they're equally focused on the restructuring of the (Boston Redevelopment Authority)," said Byrne. "They frankly don't know how it will shape up . . . I don't think there's anyone thinking they're going to wipe it off the map. They're just unsure."

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Startup promises more TV on campus

A startup hatched in a Harvard dorm room has just raised $6.3 million from backers, including HBO, to bring live TV to universities nationwide via the Web.

"Most students don't have TVs on campus any more," Tivli CEO Christopher Thorpe said. "We make the TV experience work on all devices so college students can watch it on their terms."

Co-founders Tuan Ho and Nicholas Krasney created the company's first streaming service in their dorm room because they wanted a more convenient way to watch television on campus.

The two engineering students graduated from Harvard University in 2009 and founded the company the next year. By the fall of 2011, Tivli began offering the service to Harvard students.

Today, it has a staff of 10 who work out of the Harvard Innovation Lab in Allston, and also serves Yale, Wesleyan University, the University of Washington and Texas A&M University.

Right now, it can only be accessed on computers and laptops, Thorpe said, but it soon will also be available on smartphones and tablets.

The $6.3 million will help extend Tivli's reach to other universities and roll out digital video recording, social media and interactive features.

"They solved a real problem that kids have in college," said Patrick Chung, a partner at New Enterprise Associates, which led the funding round. "The point is to bring a lot of content to campuses that students had trouble accessing before Tivli ... Television as a medium has been static from the start. Tivli for the first time will make TV social."

Eventually, Thorpe said, Tivli also may extend its service to hotels, hospitals and military bases.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

BlackBerry still a pick to win

A lukewarm launch of BlackBerry's top-of-the-line smartphones and lower than expected sales numbers have left the Canadian company's investors searching for answers, but experts said it is just the start of a long rebuilding process.

Speaking at the company's annual shareholder's meeting on Tuesday, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins told investors the company is "in the midst of a major, complex transition." He said the company is in the second stage of a turnaround, but profitability will not be until stage three. In late June, BlackBerry — which officially changed its name from Research in Motion on Tuesday — announced it shipped a million fewer smartphones than expected.

"While many will judge our short-term success on unit sales in a single quarter, we are not a device-only company," Heins said, referring to the company's software, including enterprise-level security and BlackBerry Messenger, which recently launched on iPhone and Android.

BlackBerry has been struggling to stay level with other smartphone makers, and did not make the top five handset manufacturers in May, lagging far behind Apple and Samsung, according to comScore MobiLens, which tracks smartphone market share.

Still, this is not necessarily the end for BlackBerry, analysts said.

"I don't think it was realistic to expect he would turn it around in one quarter," said N. Venkat Venkatraman, a management professor at Boston University, referring to Heins. "I think they have a chance to be a credible third player."

"They can live to ride again, but it's not a good sign," said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asia stocks gain as earnings, China trade weighed

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets made small gains Wednesday as investors weighed expectations of robust U.S. corporate earnings against weak trade figures from China.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was up just 0.1 percent to 14,489.90 and Hong Kong' Hang Seng gained 0.4 percent to 20,766.41.

Most other regional markets rose by less than 1 percent, with Australia's S&P/ASX up 0.8 percent to 4,919.20, Taiwan's Taiex gaining 0.6 percent to 8,020.56 and China's Shanghai Composite up 0.3 percent to 1,951.85. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2 percent to 1,926.15.

While good economic news out of the U.S. has sparked gains in some markets this week, Asian stocks continue to be weighed down by signs that China's era of breakneck economic growth above 10 percent is over.

In a new sign of weakness in the world's second-largest economy, China's exports fell by 3.1 percent in June compared with a year earlier and imports contracted by 0.7 percent, customs data showed Wednesday.

China's economic expansion is expected to slow further due to weak global demand and an effort by the Chinese central bank to cool a credit boom. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday scaled back its China 2013 growth forecast to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent.

In the U.S. and Europe, stocks have been buoyed by expectations that corporate earnings will remain at record levels and confirmation that Greece would get its next batch of bailout cash.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5 percent to 15,300.34 on Tuesday, while the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.7 percent to 1,652.32 — its best run in two months — and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6 percent to 3,504.26.

Markets worldwide have largely recovered since U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last month said that the central bank planned to reduce its monetary stimulus, prompting a global selloff.

The central bank is buying $85 billion in bonds a month to keep interest rates low and encourage borrowing and spending. That stimulus has been a major factor in driving global stock markets higher.

After a few weeks of volatile trading at the prospect of the stimulus being scaled back, investors now appear to be applauding the prevailing trend of improving U.S. economic news.

"Normality appears to have returned to the markets, with investors buying on good news and selling on bad," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari.

The consensus in the markets is now that the Fed will first reduce the amount of financial assets it buys in September.

Wednesday's expected publication of the minutes of the last Fed policy meeting in June and an ensuing speech by Bernanke will be monitored in that context.

Benchmark crude oil for August delivery was up 84 cents to $104.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest level in more than a year.

In currencies, the euro remained nearly flat at $1.2776 for a second day while the dollar declined by 0.2 percent to 101.02 yen.

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

China June trade falls in new sign economy fading

BEIJING — China's trade declined abruptly in June in a sign growth in the world's second-largest economy might be cooling even more sharply than expected.

Exports fell by 3.1 percent compared with a year earlier and imports contracted by 0.7 percent, customs data showed Wednesday. Both were below forecasts of growth in the low single digits.

China's economic growth has slowed this year and is expected to fall further due to weak global demand and an effort by the Chinese central bank to cool a credit boom.

"The export sector is faring very badly. It does suggest overall growth momentum is going to be weaker than we initially expected," said Societe General economist Wei Yao.

New communist leaders who took power last year say they want to pursue slower, more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption, reducing reliance on trade and investment. But some analysts say the latest slowdown might be so deep they could be forced to temporarily reverse course and boost lending or government spending to stimulate growth.

A decline in Chinese economic activity could have global repercussions, denting revenues for suppliers of commodities and industrial components such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Lower Chinese demand already has depressed global prices for iron ore, copper and other raw materials, cooling an economic boom for exporters.

The ruling party's growth target this year is 7.5 percent, down by almost half from 2007's staggering growth rate of 14.2 percent. Some analysts have suggested growth might dip below 7 percent in coming months — dangerously low by Chinese standards.

Some private sector forecasters cut their growth outlook for the year, though to still robust levels above 7 percent, after a credit crunch hit China's financial markets last month. That came as the central bank tried to rein in a lending boom regulators worry could spiral out of control.

"The most likely outcome, in our view, is the Chinese economy going through a period of sluggish growth and adjustment," said UBS economist Tao Wang in a report this week.

Communist leaders have promised to promote private businesses that generate most of China's new jobs and wealth but have yet to make major changes.

Retail sales have fallen short of official forecasts and a HSBC Corp. survey of manufacturers showed activity contracted in June for a second month.

Still, Chinese leaders are unlikely to back away from efforts to overhaul the country's growth model, said Societe Generale's Yao.

"The plan is still to induce some short-term pain in exchange for long-term sustainability," said Yao. "That is still the most sensible choice, but sure, they need to make some marginal adjustments to make sure the economy doesn't slow too fast."

Analysts expected China to report slower growth in trade due to a crackdown on misreporting of data by exporters as a way to evade currency controls and bring extra money into the country. But even with that taken into account, Wednesday's figures were below forecasts for exports to rise by up to 3.5 percent and imports to grow by up to 1.5 percent.

June's export growth was down from May's year-on-year gain of 13.5 percent and import growth was down from 8.2 percent.

China's politically sensitive global trade surplus contracted by 12.4 percent compared with a year earlier to $27.1 billion. Exports were $174.3 billion while imports were $147.2 billion.

Growth in exports to the United States, China's biggest foreign market, fell to 1.8 percent from May's 3.5 percent. Exports to the 27-nation European Union contracted 3.9 percent.

The trade surplus with the U.S. contracted by 15.5 percent from a year earlier to $17.5 billion, but still one of this year's highest levels. The surplus with Europe shrank 20.3 percent to $10.2 billion.

___

General Administration of Customs of China: www.customs.gov.cn

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Search gets in your face

After six months of tests with a select group, Facebook is rolling out a new search tool to the rest of the site's U.S. users, making it easier to find people, places, photos and interests in your social circle.

But the company's Graph Search could backfire because of privacy concerns sparked by the National Security Agency domestic surveillance scandal, analysts and social-media consultants said.

"It is every stalker's fantasy tool," said Max Wolff, senior analyst at Greencrest Capital. "It could actually alienate people. People are extra-sensitive about privacy because of the NSA scandal. So the average user could jack up their privacy settings and decide to disclose less on Facebook, which could hurt advertising."

Todd Van Hoosear, owner of Fresh Ground, a Cambridge social-media consulting firm, said he'd like to know what personal information of his might show up in a search done by someone he isn't friends with.

"I want to have full control over my personal information," Van Hoosear said. "I think that would go a long way toward addressing concerns about privacy."

As Graph Search rolls out more widely, people on Facebook will see a notice on their home page with a reminder about how to control what they share and with whom, said Facebook spokeswoman Kate Guarente. This follows a similar notice in December that highlighted new privacy tools to help people manage what they share on Facebook, Guarente said.

While there may be more work to be done in that area, Van Hoosear said, Facebook has made strides with other aspects of its search tool since the company announced it in January.

Graph Search has become faster and, like Google, more intuitive, offering suggestions in a pull-down menu as you type what you're looking for. Unlike Google, however, Graph Search mines data in your social circle, allowing you to search for restaurants that your friends like in Cambridge, or search for photos of your significant other before you met.

Facebook is also working on getting mobile Graph Search ready, Guarente said.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

China's June inflation rises to 2.7 percent

BEIJING — China's inflation rose in June but was well below the government's target in a sign of weak demand amid an economic slowdown.

Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent over a year earlier, up from May's 2.1 percent gain but below the 3.5 percent official target for the year, the government reported Tuesday. The June figure was driven by a 4.9 percent rise in food costs.

Pressure for prices to rise is relatively low in China because of weak demand, excess production capacity in many industries and lower costs for raw materials and components.

June prices were unchanged from May levels, and the uptick in the inflation rate was due to comparison with unusually low prices last year, according to Alaistair Chan of Moody's Analytics.

"The inflationary environment in China remains largely nonexistent," Chan said in a report. "Non-food inflation is low, reflecting a large output gap and lack of policy stimulus."

Economic growth slowed to 7.7 percent in the first quarter of this year from the previous quarter's 7.9 percent. Some forecasters say it could dip below 7 percent in coming quarters due to government efforts to cool a credit boom and weak demand for Chinese exports.

Communist leaders are trying to shift the basis of China's economic growth from exports and investment to domestic consumption. They have refrained from launching new stimulus spending even as economic growth drifted down.

Producer prices declined 2.7 percent in June compared with a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. That was driven by an 8.5 percent fall in the price of goods from the mining industry and weaker costs for other industrial raw materials.

"This trend will continue through to year end, judging by the government's signals and the outlook for global growth," said Chan of Moody's.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Holiday saves Nstar from taking heat

Despite five days of 90-plus degree heat in greater Boston, the lights — and air conditioning — stayed on.

An executive at Nstar said the combination of so many people celebrating Independence Day out of town, coupled with the shuttering of so many businesses during the four-day break helped prevent sweeping brownouts.

"Typically, electricity usage is higher Monday through Friday when there is a combination of commercial and residential load on the system," Nstar's Caroline Pretyman told the Herald in an email. "During this week's heat wave, usage was lower than it would have been because the holiday resulted in lower overall electricity usage by commercial and business customers."

Still, she noted, the past week's spiking temperatures really drove up demand.

"We saw the highest usage on Friday. Nstar's total usage was 89 percent of our all-time peak," Pretyman wrote.

Today, weather experts say, expected rain should give us something of a break.

But, they warn, the heat will likely come back tomorrow and Wednesday.

Even if that happens, it won't result in the region's first long-running heat wave.

Back in 1912, Bostonians suffered through a nine-day heat blast.

But data shows that historically, July has been getting hotter and hotter.

July 2011 was the 2nd hottest July on record, and July 2010 was the third.

In recent years, Bay Staters have become accustomed to widespread electrical brownouts, especially when temperatures soar.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Temporary jobs becoming a permanent fixture in US

WASHINGTON — In one corner of the U.S. economy, hiring is exploding.

The downside for many people is: It's temporary work.

From Wal-Mart to General Motors to PepsiCo, companies are increasingly turning to temps and to a much larger universe of freelancers, contract workers and consultants. Combined, these workers number nearly 17 million people who have only tenuous ties to the companies that pay them — about 12 percent of everyone with a job.

Hiring is always healthy for an economy. Yet the rise in temp and contract work shows that many employers aren't willing to hire for the long run.

Temps typically receive low pay, few benefits and scant job security. That makes them less likely to spend freely, so temp jobs don't tend to boost the economy the way permanent jobs do.

An Associated Press survey of 37 economists has found that three-quarters thought the increased use of temps and contract workers represents a long-standing trend.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Flying car on a roll

Fifteen months after it created a sensation at the New York International Auto Show, Terrafugia's "flying car" will make its first airshow appearance later this month, as the Woburn company works on a next-generation prototype.

The Transition is scheduled to fly and drive July 31 at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc.

"We've had the vehicle on display there since 2006, and every year, people ask us when they can see it fly," said Richard Gersh, vice president of business development. "So we're very excited about the chance to demonstrate before a very large and enthusiastic crowd."

The company did a demonstration at Lawrence Municipal Airport last October for a select group of investors and prospective buyers, Gersh said, but AirVenture will be the Transition's first airshow.

The road-ready light sport aircraft still has a long way to go before it's ready for production, though.

In August 2012, Terrafugia said it had received more than 100 orders for the $279,000 aircraft, and the first delivery was expected this September.

But testing — and a new prototype that could be done by the end of this year — has pushed back that date to early 2015 or 2016, assuming the Transition wins certification from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Based on what we've learned from testing, our engineers have called for some changes," Gersh said. "But the overall look of the vehicle will be very similar."

Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst and former airline industry executive, said the delays are indicative of the central problem Terrafugia faces.

"You see the difficulty in trying to be a compromise between a land vehicle and an aircraft," Mann said. "When you compromise, you tend to not do either very well."

But Jake Schultz, a technical analyst for Boeing and author of "A Drive in the Clouds: The Story of the Aerocar," tips his hat to how far the Transition has come.

"I ... look forward to what this team still has in their old kit bag," Schultz wrote in an email. "Their team has not sat on the sidelines and talked about what could be done some day. They are out working every day to actually make it happen. There have only been two flying cars that have been certified — the Aerocar and the Airphibian — so theirs will be the first in nearly 60 years."

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Japan set to restart reactors after nuclear crisis

TOKYO — Japan is moving a step closer to restarting nuclear reactors as utilities are set to ask for safety inspections at their idled reactors, the clearest sign of Japan's return to nuclear energy nearly two and a half years after the Fukushima disaster.

With all but two of its 50 reactors off line since the crisis, Japan has been without nuclear energy that once supplied about a third of its power.

Four of nine Japanese nuclear plant operators — supplying the regions of Hokkaido, Kansai, Shikoku and Kyushu — will apply for safety inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for a total of 10 reactors at five plants Monday, when new safety requirements take effect. Kyushu Electric Power Co. is expected to apply for two more reactors at another plant later in the week.

The new standards are stricter than in the past and for the first time compulsory, and only reactors that pass the inspections will be allowed to reopen — possibly early next year. Each inspection could take several months, according to the watchdog, plus obtaining local consent may take another few weeks. Critics say the rules have loopholes, including grace periods for some safety equipment.

Hit by soaring gas and oil costs to run conventional power generation plants to make up for the shortfall, Japanese utility companies have desperately sought to put their reactors back online.

Nearly all the utilities owning nuclear power plants reported huge losses last fiscal year due to higher costs for fuel imports. Hokkaido Electric Power Co., for example, said it has been hit with additional daily fuel costs of 600 million yen ($6 million) to make up for three idled reactors. Nuclear operators have already requested rate hikes or plan to do so.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in December, scrapped a phase-out plan set by the previous government. Resumption of nuclear power plants is part of his ruling party's campaign platform in parliamentary elections in two weeks.

The new requirements specify for the first time that plants must take steps to guard against radiation leaks in the case of severe accidents, install emergency command centers and enact anti-terrorist measures. Operators are required to upgrade protection for tsunamis and earthquakes, as well as tornadoes and aviation accidents.

Safety was previously left up to the operators, relying on their self-interest in protecting their own investments as an incentive for implementing adequate measures. Tokyo Electric Power Co. came under fire for underestimating the risk of a tsunami and building a seawall that was less than half the height of the wave that hit the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant on March 11, 2011, knocking out power and cooling systems, which led to meltdowns in three of its reactors. About 160,000 evacuees still cannot return to their homes.

"We decided to apply because we're confident about the safety measures we've taken," said Shota Okada, a spokesman at Hokkaido Electric Power Co., filing for the triple-reactor Tomari plant. "We'll do everything to accommodate a smooth inspection process."

Hokkaido Electric hopes to restart them in time for the long, cold winter on the northern main island, said company president Katsuhiko Kawai recently.

Critics say the requirements still have loopholes that make things easier for operators, including a five-year grace period — given to reactors known as PWRs that come with larger containment chambers considered less likely to suffer from pressure buildup than ones like those ravaged at Fukushima — for installing some mandated new equipment and a full-fledged command center. This means about half of the 48 reactors that are PWRs, or pressurized water reactors, could operate without the safety features up to five years.

All 10 reactors set for inspections are PWRs, and filtered vents and command centers are reportedly still under way at many of them.

Opponents say the approvals are aimed at resuming reactor operations, although nearby communities lag in enacting needed emergency and evacuation procedures.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More